Popular Bank Preferred World Mastercard®

At a Glance

The Popular Bank Preferred World Mastercard® is this bank’s highest-yield cash back rewards card. Cardholders earn 2% cash rewards on all their purchases, and rewards do not expire. It also offers 0% APR on purchases for 12 months. Moreover, cardholders can transfer a balance within the first 90 days of having an account without paying interest for 12 months.

Ideal for Those Who:

• Want to earn cash back on their purchases
• Need to transfer a balance from a higher-interest credit without paying interest for 12 months
• Would like 0% interest on purchases for 12 months
• Do their banking with Popular Bank

Popular Bank Preferred World Mastercard® Review

The Preferred World Mastercard® from Popular bank is one of two rewards cards that this bank offers U.S. residents who don’t live in Puerto Rico. It rewards cardholders with 2% cash back on their purchases, and these rewards don’t expire as long as your account is open.

Cardholders can also take advantage of 0% APR for 12 months on purchases and balance transfers. All this while benefiting from Mastercard’s international buying power. Keep reading to learn more about this credit card.

2% Cash Back on Your Purchases

The Popular Bank Preferred World Mastercard® rewards cardholders with 2% cash back on all their purchases. Popular Bank refers to its cash back program as cash rewards.

This is a very basic, straightforward cash back program. There are no rewards tiers, meaning that you don’t get more cash back for certain purchases. Similarly, there are no restrictions on what purchases do not qualify you for cash back.

That being said, you should know that most credit cards do not offer rewards on non-purchase transactions. Cash advances and balance transfers, for instance, will not earn you rewards.

The Preferred World Mastercard’s cash rewards are not that generous as far as rewards programs go, especially considering the high annual fee. To put it in dollars and cents, you only earn $20 on a purchase of $1,000. You would also have to spend almost $5,000 to break even on this credit card’s annual fee.

Redeeming Your Cash Rewards

Redeeming your rewards with the Popular Bank Preferred World Mastercard® is just as straightforward as earning rewards. You can redeem your cash back in increments of $25. This means you must have spent $1,250 with your Mastercard before you can get any cash back.

While this may seem restrictive, cardholders can redeem their rewards whenever they want. Not every cash back card allows you to do this. There are some cards, for example, that automatically issue cardholders cash back credits as soon as they rack up enough points. What’s more, these credit cards place expiration dates on these rewards.

With the Preferred World Mastercard® from Popular Bank, you can keep accumulating as much cash back as you want for as long as you want. That’s because your Popular Bank cash rewards never expire as long as your account is in good standing.

Whenever you want to redeem your rewards, you simply call Popular Bank’s customer service number. You can then specify how much of your rewards you want to convert to a statement credit.

Unfortunately, Popular Bank only lets you redeem your rewards as statement credits. This can be a letdown for people looking for more flexibility in how they can use their cash back, like being able to apply it to a checking or savings account.

0% Introductory APR on Purchases

Perhaps the most valuable features of the Popular Bank Preferred World Mastercard® are its introductory 0% interest rates. New cardholders can take advantage of 0% APR on any purchases they make for the first 12 months from the date of opening an account.

After the 12 months are up, Popular Bank will apply the regular purchase APR to any remaining balances from those purchases. Additionally, any purchases you make after the initial 12 months will accrue interest.

If you need to make a lot of large purchases all at once, this may be a good credit card for you to apply for. However, you should have a plan in place to pay off those purchases in 12 months to avoid having to pay interest.

This credit card’s interest rates range from competitively low to almost 50% higher than the national average for APRs. It’s good to identify what it is you need to purchase first rather than applying for this card and figuring out how you can take advantage of this introductory offer.

0% Introductory APR on Balance Transfers

In addition to purchases, the Popular Bank Preferred World Mastercard® also offers new cardholders 0% interest on balance transfers for the first year that they have an account. What’s more, you don’t have to make any payments on that balance transfer for your first year

You must, however, transfer any balances to within the first 90 days of having an account in order to benefit from this promotion. Also, any balance that remains after the 12 months are up immediately accrues interest.

This particular detail makes this credit card an almost ideal balance transfer card. If you are struggling to pay off an existing balance on another credit card, this Mastercard from Popular Bank can help alleviate some of your debt.

Of course, you must pay off your balance within 12 months or you can end up paying more in interest than you did with your other credit card. Make sure to calculate how much you will need to pay every month for 12 months in order to make this offer worth your while.

It’s best to do this before applying to this credit card so that you can immediately transfer a balance and maximize the time you have to pay it off.

Additional Mastercard Perks

The most attractive features of the Popular Bank Preferred World Mastercard® are its 0% introductory interest rates. But these features apply to all of Popular Bank’s U.S. credit cards.

While the cash rewards are a nice touch, they really aren’t a selling point of this card. So, what would justify this credit card’s high annual fee?

Many applicants only look at an issuer’s perks when selecting a credit card. However, the payment network (in this case, Mastercard) also offers a lot of really attractive perks.

In the case of the Preferred World Mastercard, these additional benefits may make it worth the fee. As a World Mastercard, cardholders have access to all sorts of free services and discounts.

World Mastercard’s Travel Benefits

The World Mastercard is geared more towards world travelers, so if you like to travel, you may want to consider this card. Mastercard’s Travel & Lifestyle Services offers travel protections, discounts, and extra perks on hotel stays.

For starters, Mastercard has you covered if you book a hotel with your credit card but your stay isn’t all that you expected. Simply contact Mastercard, and the company will talk to your hotel to correct any issues and ensure you have a pleasant experience.

Cardholders also receive elite membership status National Car Rental and several other popular rental agencies. If you’ve booked a hotel with your Mastercard and then find the same room advertised for less, Mastercard can reimburse you the price difference at no additional cost to you.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to World Mastercard benefits. Popular Bank doesn’t advertise these benefits when you’re applying for the Preferred World Mastercard®. However, you will receive a benefits pamphlet from Mastercard when you open an account.

Keep in mind that the Popular Bank Preferred World Mastercard® is the only World Mastercard that this bank offers consumers. The regular Mastercard doesn’t offer cardholders the same amount (or quality) of benefits.

Should You Apply for the Popular Bank Preferred World Mastercard®?

Popular Bank’s Preferred World Mastercard’s most attractive features are identical to the ones included in this bank’s other credit cards. If you are really interested in taking advantage of the introductory 0% APR, you may want to consider another Popular Bank card.

Many other credit cards offer more generous cash back rewards programs than this card. That being said, the cash rewards don’t really justify the high annual fee.

If you plan on taking full advantage of Mastercard’s huge selection of perks – especially its travel benefits – this may be the card for you. If you don’t already bank with Popular Bank, however, you may not want to sing up for this card right away. There are many other issuers who offer World Mastercards with lower fees or no fees at all.